Record human trafficking numbers just ‘the tip of the iceberg’ in Canada

Nova Scotia continues to see the highest rate of human trafficking incidents reported by police in Canada, with new Statistics Canada data showing the province’s numbers were triple the national average.

The data released on Monday looked at human trafficking data from 2014 to 2024 nationally and found during the 10-year span, there were 5,070 incidents reported by police — an annual average rate of 1.2 incidents per 100,000 people. In 2024, the national average was at 1.5 with 608 incidents reported.

In Nova Scotia, that average rate sat at 4.1 per 100,000 during 10-year period, a total of 452 cases. In 2024 alone, the rate was at 4.5 with a total of 48 cases.

This year, the three Maritime provinces and Ontario each saw their rates soar past the national average, with Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick hitting 2.8 and 2.0 respectively, while Ontario saw 2.3 incidents per 100,000.

Human trafficking is defined as recruiting, transporting, sheltering or controlling the movements of a person for the purposes of exploitation, usually for sexual reasons or forced labour, according to Statistics Canada. It also does not require the crossing of international borders and can occur within a single country.

Julia Drydyk, executive director of the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, said the numbers tell a story.

“The data issued by Statistics Canada and also data from the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline is only the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “We estimate that less than 10 per cent of human trafficking survivors are willing to engage with law enforcement as part of their journey.”

The centre operates the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline and has received almost 19,800 contacts and identified more than 2,030 cases of trafficking since its launched in 2019.

The cases noted in the Statistics Canada report include both incidents involving Criminal Code violations, such as trafficking in persons under 18 years, as well as a violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act involving the trafficking in persons into Canada.

The Statistics Canada report found that from 2014 to 2024, the vast majority of victims — 93 per cent — were women and girls, with two-thirds reported to be under 25 years old, while 82 per cent of the accused in human trafficking cases were men and boys.

“These trends have generally remained consistent over time,” Statistics Canada notes. “Additionally, compared with men and boy victims, women and girl victims tended to be younger, to be involved in single-victim incidents and to share an intimate relationship with their trafficker.”

When women and girls were trafficked, the report also found 36 per cent shared an intimate relationship with the accused, while 46 per cent of men and boys trafficked shared a business relationship with the accused.

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Drydyk said the increasing rate of police-reported human trafficking, while concerning, does have a positive note to it as it shows more awareness and knowledge of what the crime looks like.

“(It) shows actually that we’re seeing a real impact in the education, awareness and general knowledge about human trafficking in Canada,” she said, noting Nova Scotia’s high rate speaks to the issue. “I think the long-standing trend of seeing Nova Scotia have such higher per capita numbers compared to other provinces is a testament to the power of putting resources into the issue at hand.”

While the number of cases increased in the past decade, so too has how the courts have handled the incidents.

In total between the 2013-14 and 2023-24 period, there were 1,281 cases involving 4,464 charges processed in adult criminal courts that received a final decision.

In 2023-24, there were 112 cases with a final decision compared to 46 a decade earlier.

But while the number of cases and charges have increased, Statistics Canada notes human trafficking cases are often complex with an average of 18 charges laid per case and they take about twice as long to complete compared to other violent offence cases.

During the 2013-14 to 2023-24 period, about 84 per cent of cases that were completed were stayed, withdrawn, dismissed or discharged, with just 10 per cent resulting in a guilty finding. About 78 per cent of those who were convicted were sentenced to jail.

Drydyk told Global News the statistics show that while there’s been gains in the criminal justice system, more work is still needed.

“Overwhelmingly we’re still failing survivors of both sex trafficking and labour trafficking in Canada,” she said, noting that trials are long, re-traumatizing for victims and “insufficient” in achieving convictions. “It just is ultimately failing survivors.”

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